Florida 5 – Washington 2

W: Brian Sanches (4-1) L: John Lannan (7-7)
HR: Michael Stanton (24)
SB: Emilio Bonifacio (24), Dewayne Wise (4), Mike Cameron (1)
CS: Emilio Bonifacio (5), Ian Desmond (5)

- The Marlins swept the series despite started Brad Hand giving up six walks in only 3.2 innings. The Marlins Bullpen gave up only one run over the final 5.1 innings to get the win. Emilio Bonifacio extended his hitting streak to 26 games and added another stolen base. It's easy for scribes to scream "BABIP!" when looking at Bonifacio but there are other advanced stats to suggest he's turned the corner. First, he's just turned 26 at the start of the season which means this isn't too crazy for him to breakout. For the month of July he's been fond of the number 15 – as in a 15:15 K:BB ratio and 15 stolen bases. So his plate discipline has improved as has his approach. He's decreased his fly ball rate (apparently he's accepted that he's not a power hitter) and his over 60 percent ground ball rate shows he's trying to put the ball in play and use his speed to get on base. No, this isn't the second coming of Rickey Henderson but he's handsomely rewarded owners who have taken a chance on him.

- I heart Mike Stanton. Thursday's homer makes in two in the last two games and four in the last six. I'm thinking his eye infection is no longer an issue. This is who you should be targeting in keeper leagues folks. Give up that player or five with an expiring contract to get him.

New York 10 – Cincinnati 9

W: Chris Capuano (9-10) L: Homer Bailey (5-5) S: Jason Isringhausen (4)
HR: Joey Votto (16), Miguel Cairo (5)
SB: Daniel Murphy (5), Angel Pagan (19)

- The Mets had three doubles which accounted for all of their extra base hits while the Reds had 10 extra base hits (two homers) so naturally the Mets won. In my opinion, Homer Bailey had nothing and Dusty Baker left him in the game waaayyy too long. Bailey retired only three of the last 13 batters he faced and one of those outs was a sacrifice by Chris Capuano.

- I'll give you a sneak preview of my Barometer this week. It will include in the "upgrades" section Mr. Lucas Duda (6-4, 250 lbs) who now has a 1.021 OPS in July.

- David Wright continues to be on a tear and is now hitting .429 (12-for-28) since his return from the DL.

Kansas City 4 – Boston 3

W: Luke Hochevar (7-8) L: Josh Beckett (9-4) S: Joakim Soria (19)
HR: Billy Butler (10), Dustin Pedroia (15)
SB: Dustin Pedroia (21), Jeff Francoeur (17), Alcides Escobar (15)
CS: Chris Getz (7)

- Billy Butler hit a home run for his third consecutive game over which time he's gone 7-for-13 with seven RBI. Oddly, he's not looking very Billy Butler like for the month. He has a 21:4 K:BB ratio and despite the recent tear his OPS is only .797. Since he's locked in at DH with the presence of Eric Hosmer, should the Royals be shopping him around while it's the perfect sell-high time?

- Dustin Pedroia should be player of the month. Not only did he extend his hitting streak to 25 games, he's safely reached base in 37 straight games. His OPS for July is 1.230, he has five steals and a 6:11 K:BB ratio.

- Kevin Youkilis returned to the lineup but went 0-for-4.

Los Angeles 12 – Detroit 7

W: Bobby Cassevah (1-0) L: Brad Penny (7-8)
HR: Miguel Cabrera (22), Wilson Betemit (4), Mark Trumbo (19)
SB: Erick Aybar (21), Alberto Callaspo (5)
CS: Erick Aybar (4)

- Mark Trumbo oddly enough missed the cycle by a ….single. Not to anyone's surprise the triple was his first of the season. He's been a diamond in the rough for owners with his 19 home runs and 53 RBI.

- I'd like to hear an explanation as to why Howie Kendrick and his team-high .304 BA and .362 OBP was hitting sixth. Torii Hunter (.234) and Vernon Wells (.215) occupied two of the first four spots.

- The winner – Bobby Cassevah – has a bad "rockin' the…" joke which I'll leave alone.

Milwaukee 4 – Chicago 2

W: Shaun Marcum (10-3) L: Randy Wells (2-4) S: John Axford (30)
HR: Ryan Braun (21)
SB: Tony Campana (12)

- Ryan Braun missed the cycle by a triple, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. He now has five home runs in his last eight games and showed no ill effects from the calf injury.

- Shaun Marcum didn't allow a home run for the first time in seven starts. If you're looking to have some fun at a Brewers game, grab a radar gun and clock his curveball. He's in a competition with Livan Hernandez for the slowest curve in the game.

- Eric Farris made his debut as a pinch hitter although the Brewers traded cash for Felipe Lopez from the Rays. There will be a mix-and-match approach until Rickie Weeks (conflicting reports of 2-6 weeks out) returns. Don't think that Milwaukee is done dealing for a middle infielder though.

Tampa Bay 10 – Oakland 8

W: Wade Davis (8-7) L: Brad Ziegler (3-2) S: Kyle Farnsworth (20)
HR: Desmond Jennings (1), Evan Longoria (14), B.J. Upton (16), Conor Jackson (4), Kurt Suzuki (8)
SB: Desmond Jennings (4), Matt Joyce (9)
CS: Desmond Jennings (1)

- Rookie (and long waited upon) Desmond Jennings had a sick day, going 3-for-4 with a homer, a stolen base and four RBI. Folks, he's the real deal.

- Evan Longoria who's had some weird stuff happen on his FB page, put that past him to go yard. His 15 walks in July say a lot about what opposing pitchers think of him.

- The Athletics hit for the cycle in the first inning and in order no less culminating with Jackson's fourth home run.

- I hate when people talk about their own leagues without giving any relevant information. Let me tell you about mine now with the hope you can see some relevancy. In my hometown, 22-team, kinda high-stakes league, I made a trade a little over two weeks ago. Needing saves after rostering Matt Capps, I dealt Jason Isringhausen and B.J. Upton for Brian Wilson and Conor Jackson. This is interesting in that at the time, Parnell was supposed to take over the closing role and Jackson was the lesser player to throw in. Since then, Jason Isringhausen has taken over the closer role, Upton (until today) has slumped, Wilson has been perfect in save opps and Conor Jackson has raked. Strange deal, no? Conor Jackson has now hit safely in his last 13 out of 14 games, going 19-for-52 (.365) with eight runs and 11 RBI.

San Diego 4 – Arizona 3

W: Luke Gregerson (3-3) L; Daniel Hudson (10-7) S: Heath Bell (30)
HR: Jesus Guzman (4), Brandon Allen (3)
SB: Will Venable (19), Chase Headley (9), Jesus Guzman (2), Justin Upton (16), Brandon Allen (1)

- Is this the last save Heath Bell sees in a Padres uniform? Maybe. I'd put a lot of money that Bell is gone by the end of Saturday with Texas or St. Louis the likely destinations.

- Josh Spence struck out the side to lower his ERA to 0.57. In innings' capped leagues, take note.

Toronto 8 – Baltimore 5

W: Carlos Villanueva (6-2) L: Brad Bergesen (2-7)
HR: Edwin Encarnacion (8), Eric Thames (5), J.J. Hardy 2 (18), Vladimir Guerrero (8)
SB: Vladimir Guerrero (1)

- Vladimir Guerrero followed J.J. Hardy's leadoff homer with a solo shot of his own in the first inning and later added a stolen base. For Hardy, this was the second time in his last three games he's had two home runs.

 - Edwin Encarnacion probably has his days limited as a Blue Jay as stud Brett Lawrie should have the imminent call-up. E5 went 3-for-4 with a home run, double and single to fall a triple short of the cycle.

- Colby Rasmus went 0-5 in his debut. Now is the time to trade for him, especially in keeper leagues.

San Francisco 4 – Philadelphia 1

W: Tim Lincecum (9-8) L: Kyle Kendrick (5-5) S: Brian Wilson (30)
HR: Pablo Sandoval (10)
CS: Andres Torres (4)

- Timmy allowed only three hits (one double to Jimmy Rollins) on his way to six scoreless innings. It looks like the stomach bug is over with.

- This was the seventh straight scoreless appearance for Brian Wilson. Out of his last nine outs, four have come way by the strikeout.

Pittsburgh 5 – Atlanta 2

W: Kevin Correia (12-8) L: Derek Lowe (6-9) S: Joel Hanrahan (30)
HR: Andrew McCutchen (15)
CS: Martin Prado (7)

- This shouldn't be much of a surprise considering the Braves lineup. Chipper Jones (.259), Dan Uggla (.205), Nate McLouth (.228), Jason Heyward (.223) and Alex Gonzalez (.230) aren't exactly lighting it up.

- All-Star Andrew McCutchen provided all the offense the Pirates needed, falling a triple short of the cycle.

Texas 4 – Minnesota 1

W: Matt Harrison (9-7) L: Scott Baker (8-6) S: Neftali Feliz (21)
CS: Michael Young (2), Mitch Moreland (2)

- Josh Hamilton's bat came alive as he missed the cycle by a home run.

- If Heath Bell gets dealt to the Rangers, does he get K-Rodded or does he take over for Neftali Feliz?

- Scott Baker appears to be fine with his second straight stellar start after a DL stint. He's given up only two runs over 12 innings (two starts) which were against Detroit and obviously the Rangers.

Houston 5 – St. Louis 3

W: Wandy Rodriguez (7-7) L: Jaime Garcia (10-5) S: Mark Melancon (10)
HR: Carlos Lee (10)
SB: Michael Bourn (39), Jason Bourgeois (18), Albert Pujols (6)
CS: Corey Patterson (9)

- Wandy Rodriguez retired the last 13 batters he faced and worked seven innings, tossing 116 pitches. Sergio Escalona and Mark Melancon finished off the Cardinals for a rare win.

- Coming into the game Jaime Garcia owned a 1.14 ERA at home and 4.74 ERA on the road. Needless to say this was his worst start in St. Louis (six innings, four earned runs) this season as he hadn't given up more than two runs in any home start until Thursday.